Folding umbrella.



No. 639,556. Patented Dec. I9, |899. F. G. GROVE & F. E. STOVER.

FOLDING UMBRELLA.

(Application filed Jan. 25, 1899.)

(Nn Model.)

A TTOHNEYS.

Tv.: mams niks co. Pnorammo.. WASHINGTON. u. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT GEETCE.

FRANK G. GROVE AND FRANK E. STO-VER, OF LURAY, VIRGINIA.

FOLDING UIVIBRELLA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 639,556, dated December19, 1899. Application iiled January/'25, 1899. Serial No. 703,351. (Nomodel.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK G. GROVE and FRANK E. STOVER, of Luray, inthe county of Page and State of Virginia, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Folding Umbrellas, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

The object of our invention is to provide an improvement in the lockingconnection between the telescopic or sliding members of a rib employedin folding umbrellas and to so construct the lookin g device for themembers of a'rib that the said locking device may bel cheaply and simplymadeand securely and expeditiously applied to one of the sections of arib.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the locking devicethat it will serve to materially strengthen the rib to which it belongswhere the two members of a rib connect, especially when the umbrella isopened, it being impossible at such time to move the members of the ribupon one another, but permit the said rib members or sections to befreely operated when au umbrella is closed.

A further object of the invention is to so construct the locking devicethat the cover of the umbrella, when stretched by the opening of theumbrella, will serve, by iiexing the ribs, to so bind the locking deviceas to prevent its accidentally moving from its fastening position,rendering sectional ribs in an umbrella, when the same is opened, asrigid as and practically stronger than the usual continuous ribs.

The invention consists inv the novel construction and combination of theseveral parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed outin the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of an umbrella frame andstick, an improved rib being shown as a portion of the frame and theframe being also shown in open position. Fig. 2 is a side elevation ofthe parts shown in Fig. 1, the rib being shown in closed position. Fig.3 is a vertical section through the improved rib at the point where itsmembers con-neet, the locking device being-in side elevation and the twosections of the ribs being shown in the position they occupy during theinitial bearing of the keeper on the locking device. Fig. 4 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 3, illustrating the position of the members of the riband the locking device when the keeper is brought close toits point oflocking engagement with the said locking device. Fig. 5 is a viewsimilar to Figs. 3 and 4, the keeper being shown in :locking engagementwith the locking device. Fig. 6 is a longitudina'l section through therib, showing the locking device in side elevation and the manner inwhich it bears upon its keeper when the rib is Hexed by the cover uponopening the umbrella. Fig. 7 is a bottom plan View of that portion of asection of the telescopic or sliding rib to which the locking device isapplied, showing the manner in which the locking device is secured tothe said ribsec tion; and Fig. Sis atransverse section takensubstantially on the line 8 8 in Fig. 1.

A represents a stick, which in the folding umbrella, and as illustrated,is madein sections, one section being adapted to fold upon the other.

B represents the ordinary runner adapted to travel on the stick, D a ribof the umbrella, and E a stretcher connecting the rib with the runner.'lhe rib D comprises two sections-an inner section 10, pivotallyattached to the crown O, and an outer section 11, adapted to telescopewith or slideupon the inner section 10.

The cover of the umbrella is not shown, but is of the usual constructionand may be attached to the ribs and to the stick in the customarymanner.

Where the two sections of the rilov connect, the ordinary lap 12 isvsecured to the outer or lower section 11 of the rib, and the stretcher Eis attached to the ears of the lap 12 by the customary pivot 13. Underthe improved construction,however,the pivot-pin 13 forthe stretcherE isadapted as a keeper for an approximately rigid latch or locking-shoeF,that is employed in connection with the sections of a rib. The latch Fconsists of a bar 111, the sides whereof are preferably iiat, and saidbar at its lower end is provided with an eX- tension 15 of less widththan the body portion of the bar. The outer longitudinal edge a of thelatch-bar 14 is concaved, the con cavity extending from a point at ornear the junction of the body of thelatch-bar with the extension 15 tothe upper end of the said latch-bar, while the inner or opposinglongitudinal edge a is either correspondingly convexed or con vexed to agreater or a less degree than the curvature of the concaved surface a.

The latch-bar 14 of the locking device is located within the innersection 10 of a rib, the extension 15 of the latch-bar being usuallycarried to the lower extremity of the said upper section of a rib, asshown in Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. 'lhelatch-bar maybe attached to theupper section 10 of a rib at its extension 15 in any suitable orapproved manner; but usually the attachment is effected by bendinginwardly the under edges of the ribsection 10 to a contact with eachother and around a lug 17, formed on said extension 15, as shown in Fig.7.

A longitudinal recess 1G is made in the inner or convexed edge of thebody-bar 14 of the locking device at a point about centrally between theends ot the said body, and preferably the upper wall of the recess 1G,or that wall that is nearest the ferrule end of the stick, is of lessdepth than the depth of the opposing wall, and when the members of theribs are drawn out so that the rib will be extended the keeper-pin 13,forming the pivotal connection between the rib and its stretcher, willenter the recess 16, as shown in Fig. 5, and have bearingagainst theupper or shallower wall of said recess 1G when the umbrella is raised.

When the telescopic rib having the improved locking device is extendedto such an extent as to cause the free end of the locking device toengage with the pivot-pin 13, connec'ting the rib with its stretcher,the parts of the rib and the position of the locking device relative tothe pivot-pin 13 will be as indicated in Fig. 3. As the two sections ofthe rib are drawn farther apart the pivot-pin 13 will ride farther onthe convexed edge of the bar 14, and by reason of the rigidity of themain portion of said bar the free end of the latter will force theadjacent portion of the inner section of the rib outward, as shown inFig. 4.

It is to be understood that the rib-sections are of spring material andthat we utilize this quality of the material to lock the sections inextended position. Therefore when the sections of the ribs are fartherseparated the pivot-stud 13 of each will spring into its recess 16 andwill be securely held in said recess for the reason that when the bar 14is relieved from the excessive pressure of 'the pivot-stud the innersection 10 of the rib, which has been sprung outward by the pressure ofthe end of the bar, as shown in Fig. 4, will assume its normal orstraight position and will force thc bar 14 inward securely against thestud.

When the two sections of a rib are locked together,as above described,and the umbrella is closed and the sections of the ribs locked, as abovedescribed, the rib may be readily shortened by sliding one section uponthe other, as the keeper or pivotpin 13 may be readily passed by theupper or shallower wall of the recess 1G, and when a rib has beenlengthened out and locked in its extended position the cover of theumbrella will flex the rib in the usual manner, bringing it to theposition shown in Figs. 1 and G, at which time the bar 14 will have suchbearing ou the keeper, the keeper being in the recess 16, that it willbe impossible to move the lower section of the rib upon the uppersection.

The wider or lower wall of the recess 1G effectually prevents thekeeper-pin 13 being drawn outwardly from the recess 16, and the saidwall likewise serves to limit the outer movement ot' one section uponthe other section of the rib.

It will be noted that the bar 14, which is constructed so that it willnot straighten out, diffuses the strain or thrust that occurs when theumbrella is in open position and the rib is flexed by the cover quite adistance on each side ot the joint between the sections of the rib, sothat while without our bar the inner end of the outer section would havea tendency to separate from the meeting end of the other section whenthe rib is ilexed. In our device no such tendency occurs because themeeting ends of the sections are held straight by the bar no matter howmuch the rib is flexed and the fulcrums are thrown on the stud 13 andthe two ends of the bar instead of on the point of meeting of the edgeof the inner section and the other section. It will thus be seen thatthe bar 14 acts as a reinforce for the joint of the rib, making itpractically stronger than if it were a continuous rib, and the bar 14may be said to be a locking-shoe for the reason that it not only acts as.a lock to secure the two sections of the rib in extended position, butas a shoe to diiuse the thrust of the stretcher. Further, by forming therecess 1G at about the middle of the shoe or latch the latter will lieon each side of the stud about equal distances. Therefore it is evidentthat the strain on such bar is so evenly divided and diffused that itserves to hold the stud tightly in the recess, and as the strain uponthe stud is increased by iiexing the rib the more secure will be theposition of the stud in the recess.

Having thus described our invention, we-

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tended position and raised will be diffused on both sides of the jointbetween the sections, as set forth.

2. In an umbrella or the like, a rib constructed in slidable sections,one of Which carries a pivot-stud, a stretcher connected to said studand an approximately-rigid lockingshoe having one end secured to theother section and its other end free and being provided With a convexsurface on which the stud rides when the sections are extended and aconcave opposite edge, as set forth.

3. In an umbrella or the like, a rib constructed in slidable sectionsone of which carries a pivot-stud, a stretcher connected to purpose setforth.

FRANK G. GROVE.

FRANK E. STOVER.

Witnesses to signature of Frank G. Grove:

J. W. BLACK,

J. F. DUNLAP. Witnesses to signature of Frank E. Stover:

J. FRED. AGKER,

JNO. M. RITTER.

